Fertilizer-distributer.



No. 810,768. PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906.

' 0. K. JOHNSON.

FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1905.,

W/T/VESSES:

17 v mum/r09 mazled lffinaan By ATTOR/VE lllNTTED STATES rarest orrionFERTILIZER-DISTRIBUTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1906.

Application'filed August 1, 1905. Serial No. 272,145.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES K. J OHNSON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Florence, in the county of Florence and State of SouthCarolina, have invented a new and Improved Fertilizer-Distributor, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to fertilizer-distributers, and is intendedespecially to be used by cotton-planters in fertilizing fields withguano. The distributer is adapted to be advanced along the furrows inwhich the cotton is to be planted.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved'means forcontrolling the feeding of the fertilizer from the distributer.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and definitely set forth in theclaim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical central section through the machine, taken on theline 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan of thelower portion of the frame ofthe machine and illustrating the construction and manner of mountingafeed-plate which is disposed beneath the hopper. This view issubstantially a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l, and Fig. '3 is across-section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the frame of themachine, which is of substantially rectangular form, comprising sidebeams 2 and a transverse cross-beam 3 at the front. Near their rearextremities the beams 2 are connected by a transverse tailbeam 4, the.upper face whereof is somewhat depressed below the upper faces of theside beams, as indicated. At the forward portion of the frame a yoke 5is rigidly attached, which facilitates the attachment of draft-animalsto the implement, if desired.

Near the forward portion of the frame 1 and on the under side thereof Imount an axle 6, carrying rigidly a wheel 7, disposed centrally in theframe, as indicated. This wheel 7 is adapted to run in the furrow andaffords means for driving an automatic feed. Just at the rear of thewheel above the frame 1 there is mounted a hopper 8 of any suitableconstruction, such as that shown. At the sides of this hopper handles 9are provided, which incline upwardly and rearwardly, the forwardextremities of the said handles being attached to the side beams 2 inthe vicinity of the axle, as indicated in Fig. 1. This hopper 8 isclosed below by means of a feed-plate 10, which rests upon the upperface of the tail-beam 4. Adjacent to the tail-beam the feed-plate isprovided with oppositely-disposed longitudinal slots 1], through whichclamping-bolts 12 pass upwardly, enabling the feed-plate to be rigidlysecured to the frame in any position desired. The forward portion ofthefeed-plate passes under the hopper, and its forward edge 13 is bent up-Wardly, as shown in Fig. 1, lying against the inclined forward wall 14of the hopper. The forward portion of the feed-plate 10 is provided withtransverse slots 15 and 16 of different lengths, and these slotsconstitute openings through which guano within the hopper may pass. Itshould be understood in this connection that the feed-plate can besecured in position so that either of the openings 15 or 16 is presentedin the bottom of the hoper. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the opening15,which is the longest, is arranged so as to constitute a feed-opening. Ifdesired, however, the bolts 12 may be loosened and the'feedplateadvanced forwardly, so as to bring the opening 16 into the positionformerly occupied by the opening 15, which is substantially under thecentral line of the hopper.

Just below the hopper I provide a feedroller 17, which is mounted torotate with a horizontal shaft 18, the said roller having longitudinalribs or convolutions 19. This roller is substantially surrounded by acasing 20, and the wall thereof is cylindrical, as shown, so as toconform to the outline of the roller. The lower portion of the casing isformed into a rudimentary chute 21, at which the fertilizer is ejected.The upper portion of the cylindrical wall of the casing 20 is providedwith a transverse slot or opening 22, and when the openings 15 or 16 areadjusted into position they mayregister with this opening 22. When soregistered, the fertilizer may pass downwardly from the hopper into thecasing of the feed-roller, from which it is fed automatically by theadvance of the implement. I

In the lower portion of the hopper 8 I mount a horizontal shaft 23,which has an enlarged cylindrical body, as indicated in Fig. 1. Throughthis body bars 24 are secured,

the extremities whereof project, as indicated, so as to constitute armslying in the space Within the hopper. This shaft 23 may have a reducedextremity on which there is rigidly attached a sprocket-wheel 25. Asimilar sprocket; wheel 26 is rigidly carried by the shaft 18 of thefeed-roller. Around these sprocket-wheels and sprocket 28 asprocketchain 27 passes, and this chain is adapted to be driven by therotation of the wheel 7. For this purpose the axle 6 extends beyond theframe and carries rigidly a sprocket-wheel 28, over which the chain 27passes. From this arrangement when the machine is advanced along a rowor furrow the movement of the driving-chain 27 rotates the shaft 23 andthe feed-roller 17 in a forward direction. The rotation of the shaft 23with its projecting arms constitutes an agitator for stirring up thefertilizer in the lower portion of the hopper, facilitating itsgravitation through the feed-opening 22 in the casing 20. In this waythe fertilizer is made to pass down into the gutters or grooves betweenthe ribs 19 on the roller 17, and as the roller turns the fertilizer isdischarged outside or near the lower side thereof. The fact that theslots or openings and 16 are of different widths enables the quantity offertilizer to be varied, and of course the width of the fertilized beltor row is changed accordingly.

Near the rear portion of the frame 1 a pair of legs 29 are provided,which project downwardly and are adapted to support the rear portion ofthe frame.

Referring especially to Fig. 3 attention is called to the fact that theWidth of the feedplate 10 is sufficient to bridge the space between theinner faces of the side beams 2, so that the side beams virtuallyconstitute a guide for the same in adjusting the slots into position. Inthis connection it should also be observed that the upper side of thecasing is slightly depressed below the upper faces of the side beams, sothat this guiding effect is produced at the forward portion of thefeed-plate as well as at the rear.

In order to increase the rigidity of the hopper, upon the handles 9 Iprovide transverse braces 30 and 31, which connect the handles and rest,respectively, against the forward and rear walls of the hopper, asindicated in Fig. 1.

The plate 10 is preferably formed of pliable sheet metal, such asgalvanized iron or mild steel, these materials adapting the plateadmirably for the upward bending to which the forward portion thereof issubjected.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent A fertilizer-distributer having a frame and a hoppersupported thereupon, a feed-plate having openings of different lengthstransversely disposed with respect to the direction of advance of theimplement, the said plate affording means for closing the lower portionof said hopper, the forward portion of said feed-plate being bentupwardly and lying against the inner face of the wall of said hopper, afeed-roller disposed beneath said feedopening, means for driving saidfeed-roller With the advance of said frame, and means for adjusting saidfeed-plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES K. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

J. W. MoCARoN, E. H. BACOT.

